1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to geometric toy construction systems and, more particularly, to a system including planar geometric panels of selected regular polygonal shapes incorporating shared but separate connector axle devices attached edge-wise about the periphery thereof, enabling the panels to be interengaged to form two- and three-dimensional arrays.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are numerous prior art construction systems intended to enable the construction of three-dimensional figures using a variety of uniquely shaped and configured building elements. Many of these systems have been created and marketed as toys for amusement and educational purposes, intended to make use of basic principles of construction and geometry to "teach" construction principles in a diverting and amusing fashion.
"Hub and strut" construction sets (marketed under the trade names Tinker Toy, Erector, Ramagon, etc.) have been devised to enable the building of more or less open lattice type space frame structures. But these are difficult for children to manipulate due to the size and variety of pieces offered and the fact that the child is forced to start the construction "from scratch" without the aid of building elements already configured in the form of basic polygonal shapes from which the more complex polyhedra can be built.
Interconnectable "building block" or "lincoln log" type designs (marketed under the trade names Lego, Flexi-block, Krinkles, Lincoln Logs, etc) have been designed to enable the construction of building and mechanical devices. However, due to the basic cubic or rectangular block configuration of the pieces, they are incapable of forming most regular geometric polyhedral shapes.
"Planar polygon" type construction devices comprise another category of geometric construction sets. Kits of this type (marketed under the trade names of Polydron, Googolplex, Linxx, Waffle, Snapland, etc.) enable relatively flat planar geometric shapes to be connected edgewise either parallel to or perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shape's edge. The invention described herein is an improved version of this general category.
The principles behind the use of such planar shapes occur naturally in, for example, the molecular structure of chemical compounds and crystals. Use of such shapes in an educational setting helps the user to develop a "feel" for naturally occurring structures. By creating a sense of how planar shapes and spaces interact to form three-dimensional systems, the groundwork is laid to more meaningfully explain to a user how atoms arrange themselves in space to form molecules, or how planar building panels may be utilized to create a well-designed and attractive living space. There have been numerous prior efforts by others to create and design such planar building systems. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,183,430 (Swann); 4,090322 (Hake); 4,065,220 (Ruga); 4,055,019 (Harvey); 2,776,521 (Zimmerman); 4,309,852 (Stolpin); 2,414,716 (Carson); 2,786,301 (Torricelli); 4,147,007 (Eppich); 4,253,268 (Mayr); 2,208,049 (Pajeau); 3,442,044 (Ouercetti); 4,270,302 (Dandia); 4,334,868 (Levinrad); 4,365,454 (Davis); 5,137,486 (Glickman); 5,100,358 (Volgger); 4,792,319 (Svagerko); 4,345,762 (Lebelson); 4,728,310 (Valtolina); 5,046,982 (Erickson); 5,137,485 (Penner); 4,425,740 (Golden); 4,836,787 (Boo); 3,614,835 (Rice); 3,726,027 (Cohen); 3,032,919 (Amsler); 2,708,329 (McKee); 3,120,078 (Bessinger); 3,597,858 (Ogsbury); 3,827,177 (Wengel); 3,872,620 (Daenen); 3,921,312 (Fuller); 4,212,130 (Walker); 3,891,335 (Feil); and 4,884,988 (McMurray) all teach systems of planar shapes which are, in one fashion or another, interconnectable.
However, these aforementioned inventions are all limited to either two panel junctions as with U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,055,019; 4,090,322; 2,776,521; 4,309,852; 4,253,268; 5,100,358; 4,792,319; 4,345,762; 4,253,268; 5,046,982; 5,137,485; 4,425,740; 3,032,919; 2,708,329; 3,120,078; 3,597,858; 3,872,620; 3,921,312; 4,212,130; 3,614,835; and 4,911,672; or, if multi-panel junctions are permitted, the invention limits the angular orientation of the panels arranged about the junction to a few specified angles thereby fixing the panels in place so that they cannot rotate freely about the axis of the junction as with U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,270,302; 4,334,868; 4,789,370; 5,121,526; 5,145,441; 4,365,454; 5,137,486; 3,827,177; 3,891,335; and 4,904,108.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,430 incorporates integral connectors on panels to permit edgewise interengagement of up to four planar polygons about a junction and the panels can rotate freely about the axis of the junction. However, the connector sets located on the edges of the panels of the invention consist of adjacent and/or alternating male and female like connector sets arranged about the perimeter of the panel which must be brought in contact with oppositely configured connectors on another panel in order to effect the interengagement. This greatly restricts the freedom of construction of multi-polygonal structures as more and more panels are joined together thus locking into place the number, variety and sequence of available connector sets to which additional panels can be interengaged. Often times this results in the necessity to completely restructure or abandon the proposed construction due to the inability to find a panel with the proper disposition of connector sets about its perimeter to permit the completion of the structure as envisioned by the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,787 which incorporates "hook and loop" type connector material running contiguously about the entire perimeter edge of the panels permits multi-panel freely rotating edge-wise junctions of a variety of planar polygonal panels. However, the patent incorporates separate hook and separate loop connector strips placed alternatively around the entire perimeter of the panels so that edgewise interengagement of the panels can only take place between panels whose surfaces have the same orientation to one another (i.e. all facing the same direction) thereby putting oppositely surfaced hook and loop material in edge-wise contact and thus requiring that the opposed surfaces of each panel be differentiated from each other by means of color coding, texture, etc. This also imposes a severe restriction on the free form assemblage of panels especially with regards to the incorporation of interior partitions in constructions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,988, which also employs "hook and loop" connector elements, is an improvement on U.S. Pat. 4,836,787, in that the hook and the loop connector elements are incorporated in intimate combination around the perimeter of the panels thereby allowing for a completely free form edge-wise multi-panel interengagement of panels freely rotating about the axis of the junction regardless of the orientation of their respective surfaces. However, both "hook and loop" inventions offer no means for precise edge-wise alignment of panels other than by gross visual examination. The cumulative effect of even small misalignments of panels results in significant deformation occurring in the construction. Finally, "hook and loop" connector material readily picks up any lint or hair encountered thus marring its aesthetic appearance after a very short period of use.